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Rachelle Hunt, violin

Since making her solo debut with orchestra at the age of nine, American violinist Rachelle Hunt has appeared as a soloist with orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Since 2011, she has held a full-time position as a violinist in the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (hr-Sinfonieorchester). Additionally in recent years, she has appeared as a soloist with ensembles such as the Strings of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Strings, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Chamber Orchestra (Germany/International), the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen (Germany), and the Orquesta Filharmónica de Ecuador (Ecuador). Ms. Hunt has been a top prize-winner in international and national competitions in the USA and Europe (Kingsville, Corpus Christi, etc). She has performed as a soloist in such venues as the Concert Hall and Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center and Strathmore Hall in Maryland, the Sendesaal of the Hessischer Rundfunk, the Auditorio Jorge Fabio Lozano (Colombia) and Casa de la Música (Ecuador), as well as being heard on the nationally broadcast “From the Top” on NPR. She has also been featured on the public radio stations hr2 and hr3, and ARTE Concert in Germany, on ValeTV in Venezuela and on Colombian TV.

A passionate chamber musician, Ms. Hunt has performed throughout three continents. In addition to regular appearances at the most important venues in Frankfurt and Hessen, she has appeared in chamber music recitals in halls such as the Robert-Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany. She founded the Atlantic String Duo in 2012 with violinist/violist, Stefanie Pfaffenzeller. Their recordings of the Mozart Duos for Violin and Viola were selected by the Mozarteum Stiftung in Salzburg to be included in the digital collection of the complete works of W. A. Mozart. She has also given world premieres of chamber works by composers such as Mark David Boden and Kent Carlson.

Ms. Hunt received her Bachelor of Music Degree, Summa Cum Laude, from Rice University under Kathleen Winkler. In 2008 she received a full grant from the Fulbright Commission to study in Germany for a year, and the following school year, she received the Wagoner Foreign Study Scholarship from Rice University to continue her studies for another full year. In 2010, she received her Konzertexamen Diplom with Highest Distinction (Auszeichnung), the highest degree in musical performance in Germany, from the Robert Schumann Hochschule für Musik in Düsseldorf under the tutelage of Ida Bieler. Subsequently she was awarded a Chamber Music Certificate with Highest Distinction (Auszeichnung) from the Robert-Schumann Hochschule, and during her studies, she was promoted by Yehudi Menuhin’s “Live Music Now” organization.

Ms. Hunt considers educational projects an important mission. She teaches in the Orchestral Academy of the hr-Sinfonieorchester and is adjunct faculty at the Konservatorium in Frankfurt (Dr. Hochs Konservatorium). Frequent invitations to give masterclasses and complete residencies have brought her to the United States, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, and Belize, and she has been on the faculty of festivals such as Manhattan School of Music Summer Music Camp and KlangLabor Masters. Her students have received top honors in competitions and ABRSM. Additionally she holds a Professional Certificate in Teaching Artistry from the Global Leaders Institute (Orchestra of the Americas in collaboration with McGill and Oxford Universities).

Ms. Hunt resides in Germany and speaks English, German and Spanish fluently.

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Katie Tertell, cello

Award-winning American cellist Katie Tertell is a performer and artistic curator, innovating how classical music is digested in modern times. Katie is Artistic Director and Founder of the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, headquartered in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA. A former member of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, she enjoys a rich and varied experience as a freelance artist in the UK, Europe and America.

Alongside work with internationally celebrated ensembles, Katie focuses her attention on projects that aim to connect people through meaningful experiences in music, working cross disciplinarily and in various sectors. Katie performs and records regularly with European symphony and chamber orchestras including in various leadership roles at major venues and festivals such as the BBC Proms. She can be heard regularly on BBC Radio 3, networks in the European Broadcast Commission and RTÈ Lyric FM in live and recorded performances of chamber, orchestral and folk works. Katie teaches cello at Durham University (UK) and is a member of the critically-acclaimed chamber music collective Musici Ireland, as well as the Northumberland-based group Howay the Lasses.

Katie has the pleasure to perform at chamber music festivals and series in the UK, Europe and USA (Wye International, Torrey, Endellion, Kilkenny etc.), and enjoys working with composers on creative projects and commissions. Katie is a recipient of several awards and honours, including an “Exceptional Talent” visa awarded by Arts Council England, a Leverhume Bursary and several performance competitions and grants. Some of her current projects include “Howay the Lasses”, celebrating women of the North East in original song; “A Winter’s Journey, reimagined” with composer Mark Boden; “Lost in Plain Sight” in collaboration with Dr. Rosi Song, Durham University and the Instituto Cervantes, and the educational Cello Power project which was presented as part of the Live_Performance Now conference in Dublin in March of 2022.

Katie grew up outside of Washington D.C. in McLean, Virginia. She holds degrees with honours in performance from Indiana University, Cleveland Institute of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, as well as a Second Masters degree in Suzuki Pedagogy from the Sato Center at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her teachers and mentors include among many Janos Starker, Emilio Colón, Stephen Geber, Joely Koos, and Peter Dixon. Katie plays on an 1888 Colin-Mezin cello.

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